Community Rule
Encyclopedia
The Community Rule which was previously referred to as the Manual of Discipline and in Hebrew Serekh ha-Yahad is one of the first scrolls to be discovered near khirbet Qumran
, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls
. The Rule of the Community is a key sectarian document and is seen as definitive for classifying other compositions as sectarian or non-sectarian (1QpHabakkuk; 1QM; the Hodayot; and CD are other core sectarian documents). Among the nearly 350 documents (900+ manuscripts) discovered, roughly 30% of the scrolls are classified as "sectarian".
The most complete manuscript of the Community Rule was found in Cave 1, and is designated 1QS (which stands for : "Cave 1 / Qumran / "Serekh" = 'rule'). Numerous other fragments of this document, containing variant readings, were found in caves 4 and 5 (4QSa-j, 5Q11, 5Q13). Two other documents, known as the Rule of the Congregation
(1QSa) and the Rule of the Blessing
(1QSb), are found on the same scroll as 1QS and while they were originally thought to be part of the Community Rule are now considered separate compositions and appendices.
There is some debate about the identification of the community described in 1QS. The most significant question that has been asked and debated is the relationship of the scroll to the ruins of the nearby settlement. While the vast majority of scholars would argue that a Jewish religious community in the Second Temple
period occupied the site at Qumran and owned the scrolls found in caves nearby, a larger issue related to their identity as "Essenes" continues to be debated to this day. Striking similarities are found between the site of Qumran and rites and practices described in 1QS. Most noteworthy is the concern in 1QS for ritual purity by immersion and the discovery of nearly 10 ritual baths (mikva'ot
) at Qumran. Moreover, 1QS describes communal meals and a dining hall with multiple cups, plates and bowls was discovered at Qumran. Much of the debate about the communities' identification with Essenes has centered on comparing and contrasting Josephus
' descriptions of Essenes (he describes other "philosophical schools" such as Pharisees
and Sadducees
) with the details that emerge from sectarian literature found at Qumran (esp. 1QS) and the site itself. Josephus, for example, describes initiates to a male monastic order who are given a trowel for use when defecating (they are to dig a hole in private, away from the group, and ease their bowels while covering themselves with their robe), a detail about toilet habits that he finds amusing and entertaining for his readership. And yet, the discovery of a toilet at Qumran seems to contradict the witness of Josephus. Another question that has arisen, among others, when identifying Josephus' Essenes (see also Philo and Pliny) to the group at Qumran is the presence or absence of women. The cemetery that is adjacent to the settlement has only been partially excavated and there appear to be at least a few skeletal remains of women, which is seen by some to contradict an association between Essenes and the group there.
Scholars of earliest Christianity have traditionally taken note of 1QS because it refers to the messiahs of Aaron and Israel (ix 9-11). This and other writings from the Dead Sea Scrolls have opened a window to the past that allows us to understand ideas and developments related to the religious milieu near to the time of earliest Christianity.
Michael Knibb provides six divisions in 1QS, these are:
(1) in column i lines 1—15 the ideals of the community are set out; in (2) column i line 16—column iii line 12 the following are described: (a) Ritual and ceremony to enter the community are set out, (b) the covenant should be renewed annually, and (c) the need for inner conversion; (3) in column iii line 13—column iv line 26 dualistic beliefs are set forth; (4) in column v line 1—column vii line 25 are collections of rules, oaths, and rules governing administration, reproof and priestly presence; (5) in column viii— column x line 8 are references to a true, spiritual temple (i.e. community) established in the wilderness (wise leader; liturgical calendar); (6) in column x line 9—column xi line 22 is hymn of praise (to creation similar to the Hodayot
).
Qumran
Qumran is an archaeological site in the West Bank. It is located on a dry plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea, near the Israeli settlement and kibbutz of Kalia...
, the scrolls found in the eleven caves between 1947 and 1954 are now referred to simply as the Dead Sea Scrolls
Dead Sea scrolls
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of 972 texts from the Hebrew Bible and extra-biblical documents found between 1947 and 1956 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, from which they derive their name...
. The Rule of the Community is a key sectarian document and is seen as definitive for classifying other compositions as sectarian or non-sectarian (1QpHabakkuk; 1QM; the Hodayot; and CD are other core sectarian documents). Among the nearly 350 documents (900+ manuscripts) discovered, roughly 30% of the scrolls are classified as "sectarian".
The most complete manuscript of the Community Rule was found in Cave 1, and is designated 1QS (which stands for : "Cave 1 / Qumran / "Serekh" = 'rule'). Numerous other fragments of this document, containing variant readings, were found in caves 4 and 5 (4QSa-j, 5Q11, 5Q13). Two other documents, known as the Rule of the Congregation
The Rule of the Congregation
The Rule of the Congregation is an appendix to one of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls discovered in caves near the Qumran site in 1946. Three related sectarian documents were discovered in Qumran Cave 1: The Community Rule , The Rule of the Congregation , and The Rule of the Blessing...
(1QSa) and the Rule of the Blessing
The Rule of the Blessing
The Rule of the Blessing is a very fragmentary text once thought to be part of the text of the Community Rule. It is added as one of two appendices following the book of the Community Rule, on one of the first seven scrolls discovered at the Qumran site...
(1QSb), are found on the same scroll as 1QS and while they were originally thought to be part of the Community Rule are now considered separate compositions and appendices.
There is some debate about the identification of the community described in 1QS. The most significant question that has been asked and debated is the relationship of the scroll to the ruins of the nearby settlement. While the vast majority of scholars would argue that a Jewish religious community in the Second Temple
Second Temple
The Jewish Second Temple was an important shrine which stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem between 516 BCE and 70 CE. It replaced the First Temple which was destroyed in 586 BCE, when the Jewish nation was exiled to Babylon...
period occupied the site at Qumran and owned the scrolls found in caves nearby, a larger issue related to their identity as "Essenes" continues to be debated to this day. Striking similarities are found between the site of Qumran and rites and practices described in 1QS. Most noteworthy is the concern in 1QS for ritual purity by immersion and the discovery of nearly 10 ritual baths (mikva'ot
Mikva'ot
Tractate Mikva'ot is a section of the Mishna discussing the laws pertaining to the building and maintenance of a mikvah, a Jewish ritual bath...
) at Qumran. Moreover, 1QS describes communal meals and a dining hall with multiple cups, plates and bowls was discovered at Qumran. Much of the debate about the communities' identification with Essenes has centered on comparing and contrasting Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
' descriptions of Essenes (he describes other "philosophical schools" such as Pharisees
Pharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
and Sadducees
Sadducees
The Sadducees were a sect or group of Jews that were active in Ancient Israel during the Second Temple period, starting from the second century BC through the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD. The sect was identified by Josephus with the upper social and economic echelon of Judean society...
) with the details that emerge from sectarian literature found at Qumran (esp. 1QS) and the site itself. Josephus, for example, describes initiates to a male monastic order who are given a trowel for use when defecating (they are to dig a hole in private, away from the group, and ease their bowels while covering themselves with their robe), a detail about toilet habits that he finds amusing and entertaining for his readership. And yet, the discovery of a toilet at Qumran seems to contradict the witness of Josephus. Another question that has arisen, among others, when identifying Josephus' Essenes (see also Philo and Pliny) to the group at Qumran is the presence or absence of women. The cemetery that is adjacent to the settlement has only been partially excavated and there appear to be at least a few skeletal remains of women, which is seen by some to contradict an association between Essenes and the group there.
Scholars of earliest Christianity have traditionally taken note of 1QS because it refers to the messiahs of Aaron and Israel (ix 9-11). This and other writings from the Dead Sea Scrolls have opened a window to the past that allows us to understand ideas and developments related to the religious milieu near to the time of earliest Christianity.
Michael Knibb provides six divisions in 1QS, these are:
(1) in column i lines 1—15 the ideals of the community are set out; in (2) column i line 16—column iii line 12 the following are described: (a) Ritual and ceremony to enter the community are set out, (b) the covenant should be renewed annually, and (c) the need for inner conversion; (3) in column iii line 13—column iv line 26 dualistic beliefs are set forth; (4) in column v line 1—column vii line 25 are collections of rules, oaths, and rules governing administration, reproof and priestly presence; (5) in column viii— column x line 8 are references to a true, spiritual temple (i.e. community) established in the wilderness (wise leader; liturgical calendar); (6) in column x line 9—column xi line 22 is hymn of praise (to creation similar to the Hodayot
Hodayot
Hodayot is a religious boarding school and youth village in the Lower Galilee, Israel. Hodayot was founded in May 1950....
).
External links
- The Community Rule, online viewer
- An Online Transcription of Dead Sea Scroll 1QS (The "Manual of Discipline")
- English Translation
- Williams, Tyler F. "1QS: The Community Rule (Manual of Discipline)." Codex:biblical-studies.ca Retrieved August 2, 2007.